Small claims court news from Fighting 15s

Fighting 15s regrettably had to take a customer to court recently for defaulting on a payment. Their payment for an order was reversed by their bank after the goods had been dispatched and received, and the customer failed to respond to several emails and a final request for payment sent by registered post. Fighting 15s had proof of delivery of the order, and proof of delivery of the final demand for payment.

Fighting 15s has a Government Gateway account (for VAT), so it was no trouble to go through the online procedure for the small claims court which requires a gateway account. The court fee is £25, which is added to the amount that the defendant has to pay.

Fighting 15s is delighted to announce that the customer decided to pay in full, if somewhat after the deadline, rather than have judgment go against them and damage their credit rating.

It’s the first time in its trading history that Fighting 15s has had to use the small claims procedure against a customer. Fighting 15s had all the necessary documentation and proofs of posting and delivery, and the process was very simple and trouble-free. But it could have been avoided if the customer had responded to communications, particularly to the final written demand. The customer had managed to respond to email when a first attempt at placing an order failed. The result is that the customer ended up paying £55.28 for an order that should have cost £30.28.